“There are days when I am shocked that I am still alive. Like millions of disabled, chronically ill, & older people, I spend an extraordinary amount of effort just existing.” - Alice Wong.
I feel the exact same way. Keeping myself alive is a full time job - one that’s been filled with overtime since Covid.
As society decided to go full “you do you” and drop all Covid mitigations (and in many cases - dropped all reporting as well)… I found myself increasingly squeezed out of public spaces. I’m disabled and immune compromised and have been hospitalized from a cold - I’m not someone who can risk repeated COVID infections.
So I wear a respirator. Always. I endure the stares and hateful remarks from strangers and the quiet judgement from healthcare workers. I do what I need to do to survive. As long as people are knowingly spreading Covid people like me will never be safe. Masks are our single best accommodation tool.
Banning masks in public is wrong. It is absolutely a return to ugly laws and a blatant attempt to further erase and isolate disabled people. It will end lives.
The only question I have is whether the first deaths will be from forcibly infecting people with covid - or from brutality at the hands of people who feel empowered to harass and attack those wearing a mask.
There are many unknowns but one thing is for certain - we must push back. We must tell governments and lawmakers that we won’t stand for having an accessibility tool taken away from us. We won’t quietly be forced out of society any longer.
Disabled people have the same right to exist in public spaces as anyone else - and we’ve stayed home long enough. If you can wear a mask - now is the time. Help us normalize it as a medical device and push back against these bans. You may just save a life.
Read Alice Wong’s full mask ban article on Teen Vogue - I’m honoured to have made a small contribution to this incredibly important piece:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/mask-bans-disabled-people-protest#
CovidIsAirborne #
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CovidIsNotOver #
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Ableism #
Denial #
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SafeHealthcare #
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Respirators #
MasksWork #
MaskUp #
Spoonie #
Discrimination #
Dysautonomia #
mecfs #
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maskbansMask bans in cities like LA and New York are a dangerous prospect, putting people’s health at risk and allowing cities to identify protesters who wish to remain anonymous.
Alice Wong (Teen Vogue)